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Placental health in late pregnancy linked to childhood ADHD (opens in a new tab)

news-medical.net · 2026-09-30

Short answerEvidenceSource

Short answer

Mostly not supported

Mostly not supported.

The claims we could check match the study, but some claims were not covered by the evidence reviewed.

  • 1 supported
  • 8 not covered

Checked against the study summary. The full text wasn't available, so some details couldn't be settled either way.

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NewsLink checks it

Mostly not supported

The one claim we could check holds up. One of nine claims matches the study. This overall rating is based only on the claims we could check. Eight claims the study doesn't address.

  • 1 supported
  • 8 not covered
Open claim evidence
3
Then inspect each claim

Evidence layer

Claim by claim

Each claim gets a verdict. Expand it to see the evidence directly below.

9 claims in this story

Showing all 9 claimsChoose a verdict to focus the list.

Claim 1 of 9Not coveredAttention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children may be associated with problems with placental health during late pregnancy, according to a new study by University of Iowa Health Care researchers.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The abstract-level profile supports that the paper examined maternal PlGF trajectories during pregnancy in relation to later child ADHD diagnosis, but it does not report any empirical result, direction of association, or statistical significance. The headline-style claim that ADHD may be associated with late-pregnancy placental health problems cannot be verified from the supplied abstract profile.

1

Study evidence

The study examined whether PlGF trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters between pregnancies with versus without later child ADHD; no empirical findings or effect estimates are provided in the abstract.

“This cohort study examines whether placental growth factor trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters in women whose children later received an attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.”
Claim 2 of 9Not coveredThe findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry and are presented as identifying a pregnancy risk factor linked to ADHD in children and a possible treatment target.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The profile supports the general topic of PlGF trajectories and later ADHD diagnosis, but the supplied abstract profile does not verify publication venue, a reported pregnancy risk factor, or the speculative idea of a possible treatment target.

1

Study evidence

The study examined whether PlGF trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters between pregnancies with versus without later child ADHD; no empirical findings or effect estimates are provided in the abstract.

“This cohort study examines whether placental growth factor trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters in women whose children later received an attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.”
Claim 3 of 9Not coveredLow levels of PlGF in the third trimester were associated with a higher risk of ADHD diagnosis in children.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The abstract-level profile does not report results, including whether low third-trimester PlGF was associated with higher ADHD risk. This may be a full-paper result, but it is not verifiable from the supplied profile.

1

Study evidence

The study examined whether PlGF trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters between pregnancies with versus without later child ADHD; no empirical findings or effect estimates are provided in the abstract.

“This cohort study examines whether placental growth factor trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters in women whose children later received an attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.”
Claim 4 of 9Not coveredEach standard-deviation drop in PlGF was associated with 2.6 times higher odds of a later ADHD diagnosis in the child.View evidenceHide evidence

As stated2.6 times higher odds

Why this verdict

The supplied abstract profile explicitly states that no effect estimates or numerical results are provided. The stated 2.6-times-higher odds per standard-deviation drop in PlGF cannot be verified at abstract depth.

1

Study evidence

The study examined whether PlGF trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters between pregnancies with versus without later child ADHD; no empirical findings or effect estimates are provided in the abstract.

“This cohort study examines whether placental growth factor trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters in women whose children later received an attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.”
Claim 5 of 9Not coveredThe study found no significant difference in PlGF levels in the first or second trimesters, and endothelin-1 levels were also not different between the ADHD and non-ADHD groups.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The abstract-level profile does not provide trimester-specific findings or endothelin-1 results. Therefore the claim about no significant first- or second-trimester PlGF differences and no endothelin-1 difference is not verifiable from the supplied evidence.

1

Study evidence

The study examined whether PlGF trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters between pregnancies with versus without later child ADHD; no empirical findings or effect estimates are provided in the abstract.

“This cohort study examines whether placental growth factor trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters in women whose children later received an attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.”
Claim 6 of 9Not coveredThe link between low third-trimester PlGF and ADHD remained after accounting for pregnancies with preeclampsia, growth restriction, or early preterm birth.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The profile indicates an observational cohort study but does not specify covariate adjustment, exclusions, or sensitivity analyses involving preeclampsia, growth restriction, or early preterm birth. This persistence claim is not verifiable at abstract depth.

1

Study evidence

The study examined whether PlGF trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters between pregnancies with versus without later child ADHD; no empirical findings or effect estimates are provided in the abstract.

“This cohort study examines whether placental growth factor trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters in women whose children later received an attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.”
Claim 7 of 9Not coveredThe authors caution that the findings are early, come from a fairly small group of pregnancies at one medical center, and do not determine whether low PlGF causes ADHD.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The story’s caution that the findings are early and noncausal is consistent with the observational nature of the study, but the supplied abstract profile does not verify the claimed small, single-center sample or the authors’ specific cautions. The profile’s own limitations emphasize absent sample size and methodological detail at abstract depth.

1

Study evidence

The study examined whether PlGF trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters between pregnancies with versus without later child ADHD; no empirical findings or effect estimates are provided in the abstract.

“This cohort study examines whether placental growth factor trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters in women whose children later received an attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.”
Claim 8 of 9Not coveredThe story says the team plans to test whether reducing PlGF levels in pregnant mice alters offspring neurodevelopment.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

The supplied paper profile contains no information about planned mouse studies or future experiments. This claim cannot be verified from the abstract-level evidence provided.

Claim 9 of 9SupportedResearchers investigated whether changes in placental growth factor (PlGF), a biomarker of placental health during pregnancy, were related to later ADHD diagnoses in children.View evidenceHide evidence

Why this verdict

This matches the paper profile’s stated primary contribution: a cohort study examining whether maternal PlGF trajectories across pregnancy trimesters differ between pregnancies whose children later did or did not receive an ADHD diagnosis.

1

Study evidence

The study examined whether PlGF trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters between pregnancies with versus without later child ADHD; no empirical findings or effect estimates are provided in the abstract.

“This cohort study examines whether placental growth factor trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters in women whose children later received an attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.”
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Context layer

What the story carried across

Nothing material from the study was dropped.

3 things the story did carry across
  • Primary study question: whether maternal PlGF trajectories across pregnancy trimesters differ by later child ADHD diagnosis.
  • Study design is observational human cohort research, not an experiment establishing causality.
  • Outcome studied was later child ADHD diagnosis.
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Study layer

Study at a glance

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Pieces of work

1

Evidence read

study summary

Lead result

secondary data

1Lead resultsecondary dataAssess whether maternal placental growth factor (PlGF) trajectories across pregnancy trimesters differ between pregnancies whose children are later diagnosed with ADHD versus not diagnosed.cohort study / longitudinal biomarker trajectory analysisExpand

In plain English

Abstract describes a cohort study that examined whether maternal placental growth factor (PlGF) trajectories across pregnancy trimesters differ between pregnancies whose children were later diagnosed with attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) versus those not diagnosed. The abstract does not report results, effect sizes, or statistical details.

Key findings

  • The study examined whether PlGF trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters between pregnancies with versus without later child ADHD; no empirical findings or effect estimates are provided in the abstract.
“This cohort study examines whether placental growth factor trajectories during pregnancy differ across trimesters in women whose children later received an attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.”
What this piece can’t prove

2 further details could not be confirmed from the summary.

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Papers considered

The selected paper, plus nearby candidates.

PubMed, Europe PMC, Crossref · 15 candidate papers

Candidate

Prenatal screening for preeclampsia: the roles of placental growth factor and pregnancy–associated plasma protein A in the first trimester and placental growth factor and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1–placental growth factor ratio in the early second trimester

AJOG Global Reports · 2023 · Crossref

Tessa (opens in a new tab)Source (opens in a new tab)
Candidate

P-029. Role of Placental growth factor for prediction of preeclampsia in first trimester of pregnancy

Pregnancy Hypertension · 2021 · Crossref

Source (opens in a new tab)

And 9 more candidates considered.